American Pie and More Recipes for an Epic Fourth of July Meal

For Los Angeles–based chef Maire Byrne, her love of food stems from the memories it can create. While she has spent time honing her craft at gourmet restaurants Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Ajax Tavern in Aspen, and Aqua in San Francisco, Byrne’s favorite teacher is her mother. Byrne loved learning how to cook for her large family by helping her mom in their Southern California kitchen. That sort of seasonal, family-driven cooking is definitely at the heart of Maire Byrne’s culinary career.

After several years of running her successful company Thyme Catering, Byrne opened Thyme Café & Market. The communal environment serves comforting home-cooked food and, according to Byrne, “the delicious memories it can create.” Thanks to its tremendous success, Byrne opened a second Santa Monica location, called Local Kitchen & Wine Bar. Handcrafted pizzas, small plates, delicious wines, and a craft cocktail bar are all part of Byrne’s latest endeavor. We’ll take the Neapolitan pizza, please.

In celebration of her eatery, Byrne generously shared the recipes for her melt-in-your-mouth chargrilled corn and decadent raspberry sour cream tart. We think they would make delicious additions to your patriotic festivities this summer, so read on for her three mouthwatering Fourth of July recipes.

Just looking at this recipe will make you hungry. Fresh, tender lobster meat mixed with corn, tomatoes, pasta, and other delicious ingredients make this a great side dish to serve family style on the fourth. And the lobster pasta combo gives you a little more red and white.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons of salt with pasta. Allow pasta to cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Add the corn and cook it for 2 minutes, until the corn is tender. Drain the pasta and corn together and pour them into a large mixing bowl. Add the lobster, tomatoes, scallions, diced pepper, sour cream, mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and lemon juice, and mix. Add the dill at the end and mix. Keep covered for 5 to 6 hours and serve at room temperature.

Combine butter, spices, lime, and salt together in a bowl and set aside. Husk the corn, leaving a short amount at the bottom. Approximately 2 inches. Evenly spread each corn ear with the butter mix, and save remaining spread. Grill each corn so that there are char marks on each side of the ear. Once the corn is evenly charred, remove from the grill and spread another layer of butter over each one.